


Dangerously Sweet

by Euphoric_Mania



Series: Dangerously Sweet [1]
Category: Foreigner Series - C. J. Cherryh
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 13:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14955974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Euphoric_Mania/pseuds/Euphoric_Mania
Summary: The planet's association with the space station orbiting above them has always encouraged trade in foodstuffs. Fruit flavors and sugars especially have become the most adored favorites, and over-doing it on sugar has become a station wide problem, until a creative confectioner on Mospheira finds an alternative that could suit everyone.However, when an epidemic of unfortunate symptoms sweeps through the paidhi's household, they ask themselves in distress- was it assassins... or the sugar free sweets?





	Dangerously Sweet

**Author's Note:**

> I... am so not sorry for writing this. XD
> 
> Yes- the sugar-free Haribo gummy bear stories have heavily inspired this series of short chapters. The atevi are so prim and proper that it just seemed so right (and so wrong) to pair them with a little toilet humor. 
> 
> I have like, zero shame. Please don 't shoot me, lol.
> 
> Originally posted on the "Torturing the Paidhi" thread on Shejidan. Based sometime after Precursor.

In an effort to reduce the alarmingly rapid increase of sugar intake among the ship and station folk, a very enterprising individual on Mospheira developed fruit candies made with a specially formulated artificial sweetener. Designed to sweeten the much favored lollies, but not alter blood sugar or otherwise effect concentration or mental activity, this was seen as a suitable replacement treat for people who suffered excitability as exacerbated by sugar, with the hope that it would be especially effective in children.

Interested in marketing it to both humans and atevi, on-planet and off (as any entrepreneur is interested in doing, of course), the creator of those innovative sweets had sent a sizable bag of samples to one Bren Cameron, paidhi-aiji, with a request to try them and determine whether or not atevi would consider them suitably kabiu, and whether or not they would have a place in the sweets market on both sides of the Strait. Their creator explained, in the letter he sent with the large array of samples, that he was quite proud of his special recipe, as it was bursting with “plenty of natural fruit flavors”, and still sweet despite having no actual sugar added. 

The paidhi, so presented with such a request, of course took it to the four most important people in his personal and professional life: his aishid. Being atevi, they would have the desired opinion, and being his body guards, they naturally insisted on trying them first to determine their wholesomeness, with the promise that they would analyze the product and write down their opinions, so that he may be able to respond to the curious confectioner's query.

“We shall taste them and give you our report, Bren-ji,” Tano had said cheerfully when he had presented the confections to them at the security station that afternoon.

Upon their sampling, all four of them agreed that the sugar free fruit candies seemed like an excellent idea. They had, according to their report, sampled one of each flavor (there were seven varieties), and everyone was in accord: the fruit flavors were intense, and as good as the real thing. The packet of lollies had been returned to Bren, much lighter than it was when it had arrived (he suspected that their “one each” policy hadn't been that strictly enforced) and was accompanied by a double-sided page of notes in Tano's mostly-tidy hand writing. So supplied with their favorable opinions, he transcribed the notes and added them to the daily upload sent to the station, so that the regulatory bodies up there could review it- they would decide if would be a worthy import for the station population. Bren was left with the bag of sweets and his aishid's assurances that they were perfectly fine for his consumption. Securing some for himself, he passed the remainder on to his staff for a treat, leaving it up to the senior servants to decide when and how they would be distributed to the rest of the household.

As for the paidhi- there was hot tea, a comfortable chair in the study, a good book in a rare moment of free time... and a handful of lollies with his name on them.


End file.
